Gym With Sauna in the Water Garden: Bay Club Santa Monica

Bay Club Santa Monica, at 2425 Olympic Boulevard inside the Water Garden office complex, has dry saunas in both the men's and women's locker rooms. It is a compact, recently renovated club aimed at commuters, open until 9pm Monday through Thursday, until 7pm on Friday, and from 7am to 3pm on weekends. Entry is by membership or a booked club visit, so it suits people who work nearby and want a sauna on the way home.

Bay Club describes this location as newly renovated, with fully equipped workout spaces, professional training and group exercise. The company's own pitch is specific: the club sits in the heart of the Water Garden office complex and is ideally situated for the busy commuter who wants to stay in shape without the typical gym experience. The setting matches, with reflecting pools, lawns and fountains between glass office towers.

The club belongs to Bay Club's Los Angeles campus, alongside the Griffin Club, Bay Club El Segundo, Bay Club Redondo Beach and Manhattan Country Club. Bay Club as a company began in San Francisco in 1977, and this smaller Westside club is the opposite of its big flagship clubs: no pool, no courts on site, just a focused fitness floor and a good locker room.

Bay Club's sauna page lists Santa Monica among the clubs with saunas and states that both the men's and women's locker rooms feature dry saunas. The club's amenity list adds a recovery area, so you can finish with foam rolling or stretching before the heat.

The obvious routine here is the lunch break. Arrive at noon, take a 45-minute cycling or barre class, spend ten minutes in the sauna, shower and be back at a desk in the Water Garden within the hour. Pack a fresh shirt and leave the laptop in a locker, because the sauna is a shared quiet room and not a place for calls.

The amenity list names cycling, fitness centers, group exercise, fitness training, yoga, barre and sports clinics. The class calendar on the club page links to the full schedule, and members book spots in the Bay Club app.

Because the club is small, the floor works best for circuits, cardio and dumbbell sessions rather than heavy barbell work. Personal training is offered on site. Members who want a pool, tennis or pickleball can use other clubs in the Los Angeles campus, depending on their membership level.

For an after-work visit, aim to walk in by 7pm Monday through Thursday. That leaves time for a 30-minute workout, ten to fifteen minutes in the sauna, a shower and a few minutes to dress before the 9pm close. On Fridays, move the whole plan earlier, since the doors shut at 7pm.

Keep the heat short if you came straight from a hard class. Two rounds of six or seven minutes with a cool shower between them are gentler than one long session, and they leave you fresh for the drive or the train home. Drink a full bottle of water before you leave the locker room.

Bay Club's membership page lists primary memberships starting at $350 a month per adult across the company. That is a starting figure, and the rate for a given club and campus depends on what you add. The Santa Monica page recently promoted joining by October 31 to lock in 2026 rates with 31% off the initiation fee.

There is no public day pass. Visitors can book a club visit online. Bay Club's guest rules say guests may use the facilities only when accompanied by a member, and each guest is limited to up to two visits a month. If you only want an occasional sauna, a 24-hour chain club with a sauna, such as 24 Hour Fitness on 31st Street, is a cheaper route.

Weekday hours end at 9pm Monday through Thursday and 7pm on Friday. Saturday and Sunday run 7am to 3pm, which makes this a poor choice for a weekend evening sauna. Bay Club says its clubs close only on Christmas Day.

The busiest windows track the office schedule around it: early morning before work, noon to 1:30pm and right after 5pm. Mid-afternoon on a weekday is the calmest time for a longer sauna. Skip Friday evening, when the club closes at 7pm and the last hour is mostly people rushing through a shower.

The Water Garden sits on Olympic Boulevard near Cloverfield Boulevard, close to the 10 freeway. The Metro E Line's 26th Street/Bergamot station is a short walk north, which makes the club reachable by train from downtown Los Angeles and Culver City.

After a session, walk the fountain paths of the Water Garden itself, which are open and calm outside office rush hours. The Bergamot Station arts complex, a cluster of galleries near the Metro stop, is a good half-hour detour, and the restaurants around Colorado Avenue and 26th Street cover a quick dinner.

This club suits people who work in the Water Garden or the nearby Colorado Avenue office corridor and want a clean, quiet locker room with a sauna close to their desk. It also works for Bay Club members elsewhere in Los Angeles who need a Westside stop on workdays.

It is the wrong pick for weekend warriors, swimmers or anyone who wants late nights. For those, a larger Bay Club with a pool or a round-the-clock chain club will serve you better.

Address: 2425 Olympic Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90404. Hours: until 9pm Monday to Thursday, until 7pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday 7am to 3pm. Dry saunas in both locker rooms. Memberships from $350 a month per adult company-wide. No public day pass. Guests must be accompanied by a member.

The Karpo APP can fit a lunch-hour class and sauna into your workday, then suggest a dinner spot near Bergamot Station or a train time back across the city.